Devils Never Cry
by Exhile87
Summary: TT & Devil May Cry Crossover. Raven is plagued by strange dreams as Dante arrives in Jump City in pursue of Vergil. Both with a human's soul and the blood of the devil, how are they connected when an ancient ritual is ressurected? RavenDante.DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1: It Begins

**Author's Note: This is my first Teen Titans fic, so go easy on me. It will be a crossover between TT and Devil May Cry. If you've played it, ain't it an awesome game? If you've got a PS2 and haven't played it, then what are you waiting for, go get it! I came up with the idea of a crossover when I was watching some TT episode and wondering who my fave character Raven could be best paired with. I'm not a Rob/Rae fan… Robin definitely belongs to Starfire, and I'm not a big BB/Rae fan either. And then I suddenly thought of Dante from Devil May Cry and who better to go with Raven than an ass kicking half-demon like herself? (I quite like the idea of Red X/ Raven but there're just some things Dante can do that Red X can't… as you'll see soon…) **

**Dante will be based on his character in Devil May Cry 3, although I might still refer to some stuff in DMC 1 and 2. But there'll probably be some spoilers from the game, so be warned! For those of you who aren't very familiar with Dante, like I said, he's a half-demon who's a big show off and has a big ass sword called Rebellion and two handguns (with unlimited ammo, I must add…) called Ebony and Ivory. Maybe you should google him if you want to know more. The main highlight in the video game is his awesome moves when fighting so I'll obviously be taking a page out of that book when writing the battle scenes. If you are familiar with the game, I'll probably be using some lines from it as well. **

**This story is rated M for possible language and violence, plus pretty steamy sexual situations.**

** One last thing: I do not own Teen Titans or Capcom's Devil May Cry characters. So there.**

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

_ A shaky sigh escaped her lips as she clung onto him, their sweaty skin sliding against each other in rhythm to his motions. He was quiet, safe for the occasional grunt every now and then. His hands touched her body in ways she could never imagine; she wanted to kiss him and moan her desires into his mouth, but as his lips pressed against her pale neck, she reached out to run her slender fingers in his silver hair—so soft and cool to the touch. Her other hand was tracing the slightly raised skin tissue of the scar across his back; diagonally from one of his shoulders—her mind was too occupied to wonder which one—almost to his hips. _

_"Who… who are you?" she whispered, in between her lustful groans. Her violet eyes were shut tight, but when she forced them open the only thing she could see before her was a dark figure with gleaming, platinum hair. She could feel his eyes on her, but she saw nothing._

_"Does it matter?" His voice was low, almost monotonous like her own but it sent tingles down her spine, further escalating the growing sensation within her. His heated thrusts became more forceful, more yearning, making her tighten her grasp onto him. Her breaths came in pants and she uttered a single word in desire, "Yes…" Whether it was in response to his question or renewed motions, she didn't know herself._

_"I'm just like you," he said. "Our blood… They're the same…" _

_"But—"_

_"Shhh…" he silenced her plea, grazing his lips along her collarbone, his movements gaining yet more speed. She couldn't help the strangled cry of raw pleasure escaping her throat; what had begun slow and gentle was quickly turning more and more passionate. "You like this, don't you?" he murmured somewhat arrogantly into her ear before capturing her lips in a fiery kiss. "I could go all night, you know…"_

_"Don't stop…please…" she breathed, biting her lips to keep from screaming out his name… His name? She knew his name?_

_"I'm not planning to…" he replied, his frantic movements gradually bringing her over the edge. When he suddenly stopped, she let out a gasp of surprise, opening her eyes to look at the dark, faceless person before her. His next words rang loud and clear in her head, "Just don't wake up."_

With a sharp intake of breath, Raven bolted upright on her bed, her violet eyes wide and shaken. The sound of something crashing by her bed made her jump. A couple of books were on the floor, but they were far from the shelves she had neatly placed them on that afternoon. The lamp by the door was also lying on the ground, cracked and almost smashed, as if it had been dropped from a great height.

Her heart pumping painfully against her chest, she felt the familiar tingle on the back of her neck; the feeling she always had whenever she was using her powers—consciously or not. She gave a gasp when she saw one of her favourite sculptures being encased in black energy and floating in the air, wobbling about dangerously. Squeezing her eyes shut, she chanted softly to calm herself. She heard the soft thud of the sculpture landing gently on the floor and inwardly sighed in relief, but continued murmuring the 3 words she always used in meditation until she returned to her normal, calm self.

"Great," she muttered as her eyes rested on the broken lamp. _What a way to start the morning… What time is it anyway? _She turned to look at the clock by her bed. The red numbers seemed to glare at her—8.07AM. With an uncharacteristic groan, Raven dropped back onto her bed. She really didn't feel like getting up yet…

Quite suddenly, her mind reverted to the dream she had just had and she found herself flushing. Contrary to what the other titans might think, she wasn't exactly free of _interesting_ dreams like that (most of them actually involved either Aqualad or Malchior…)—after all, she was still a teenager, half-demon or not. Although the thought sent pleasant tingles down her spine, she was also a little taken back at the intensity and passion of the hazy memory. She had never woken up to a mess in her room caused by her emotion-fuelled powers before. Most of the time she only unconsciously rearranged a couple of books on the shelves, or maybe even levitated while asleep… and _most_ of the time she woke up in a surprisingly good mood, but this was definitely new.

**_"I'm just like you. Our blood… They're the same…" _**She could still hear his words echoing in her head. Raven had no idea who the stranger in her dream was, but the image of his gleaming hair hovered in her mind. He seemed so… cocky, yet intriguing at the same time… and the long scar across his back… had she imagined that?

A muffled crash made her open her closed eyes wearily. She heard someone yelling, then more crashes and yet more screaming. Growling under her breath, Raven buried her head under her pillow with the hope of drowning out the noises. Even after all these years, Beast Boy and Cyborg still wasted time arguing about breakfast. She didn't care whether they saw eye to eye or not, but she just wished they wouldn't make such a din… in the morning, especially…

"… tofu! I'm not… How many times… you little grass stain… considerate!"

"Dude! Can't you… don't eat _meat_!"

Sitting up, suddenly wide-awake, Raven muttered some profanities as she swung her slender legs over the edge of her bed, getting ready to clean up. Once she was done, she grabbed one of her cloaks from her wardrobe and pinned it up with her favourite brooch, using her powers to brush her hair at the same time. Her violet locks had grown over the last 3 years and she kept them just past her shoulders after some persistent convincing from Starfire. To tell the truth, she actually didn't mind having longer hair.

She swept the broken lamp up with a flick of her hand and dumped the remains in the dustbin. She was going to need another one of those—she _liked_ that lamp—although she seriously didn't feel like going out at all. If Starfire knew she was headed for the mall…

"'Morning, Raven," a cheerful voice called out as she stepped out of her room. She turned to see the young leader of the Teen Titans walking down the hallway, probably from his bedroom. Robin had not changed much over the years. He kept his hair a little longer, but still spiked it up with 'that cheap hair gel' (as Cyborg liked to call it). At 19, he was taller and was beginning to develop a masculine figure. He wasn't exactly bad looking either, and although he had more fan girls than ever, Raven merely saw him as an older brother she could always turn to, much like Cyborg.

"Screaming spoilt your morning?" she inquired drily as he stifled a yawn. He grinned good-naturedly. "How could you have guessed?" He hesitated for a moment before asking his next question, "Um, have you seen Star?"

"No…" Raven turned away to hide a small involuntary smile. If it took him any longer to act on his true feelings towards the alien princess, it would just confirm her suspicions that he was absolutely _hopeless_ in relationships. Even Beast Boy could see there was something between them, whether it was a casual greeting during the day or a concerned yell during battle. Personally, she couldn't think of two people who were better suited for each other.

They walked towards the kitchen and Raven inwardly sighed in relief as she heard the gentle voice of Starfire's attempting to calm both Beast Boy and Cyborg down, "Please, friends, do not act in this manner. It is too glorious a morning to spoil it with such meanness!" Robin could not help smiling at her words, but Cyborg merely snorted and poked at the sausage he was frying over the stove. A huge mess of white—probably tofu—was nearby and Beast Boy was surprisingly quiet as he chomped down on his eggs and vegetarian bacon somewhat angrily. He did not look up at the two Titans who had just walked in.

"Good morning, Robin, Raven!" chirped Starfire, brightening up immediately.

"Hey, Starfire." Robin grinned warmly. "Got anymore of those for me, Cyborg?" He gestured towards the frying pan but the death glare he received made him shrink back. "Uh, forget I asked. I'll just… have some cereal…"

"Would you prefer if I attempted to make the waffles?" Starfire inquired eagerly as Raven made some her usual herbal tea. The goth could almost hear Robin's silent grimace before he hurriedly said, "No, that's alright, Star. Thanks." As much as the Boy Wonder liked the alien girl, the thought of her cooking still freaked him out, or to be more precise, _all_ of them knew better than to try any one of the Tamaranian dishes concocted by Starfire. Raven appreciated her helpfulness and eagerness to please but she just wished she didn't expect them all to tuck into batches of fungi or crushed roaches.

"So what should we do today, guys?" Robin broke the short silence, munching on some Cocoa Pops. Beast Boy was sitting with his back towards the others, still refusing to join in.

"Perhaps we could have a picnic in the park and partake in the throwing of malodorous socks," said Starfire. "Or maybe journey to the mall of shopping? I would very much like to explore the new toe-nail paint store!" She looked at Raven hopefully.

"Sorry, Star, but I really don't feel like going out…" Raven looked apologetic as she took a sip of her tea. It was true. As much as she'd like to get another lamp, she wanted to spend more time meditating today. Her powers had been getting a little out of hand recently—it was almost as if they were growing as she was. For a moment, she wondered whether she would also undergo the 'transformation' Starfire had a few years ago; after all, she wasn't exactly human, but the monks of Azarath had never said anything about it before…

"How about a little one on one in Mega Monkeys V, huh, Robin?" Cyborg nudge their leader, whose grin faltered when Beast Boy suddenly exploded, "_Dude!_ That's _MY_ game! There's no way you're touching it after what you did to my breakfast!"

"Oh yeah?" Cyborg challenged, standing up and glaring daggers at the green changeling. "Like to know what I do to little grass stains?"

That soon set off another heated argument about tofu, mechanical brains and ownership of Mega Monkeys V. Raven sighed. _Why do they always have to be so childish? _Starfire and Robin were trying to cool things down but the squabble ended up becoming louder and louder. Leaving her seat with her tea, Raven walked towards the door, her head already beginning to ache from the racket.

"I'm going to meditate," she called out but was drowned by the screams of frustration and anger from the two Titans who were starting to pummel each other. Rolling her eyes, she decided to head to the roof. Although her bedroom was on the other side of the Tower, she had no doubt that she would probably still be able to hear them there.

The morning breeze blew gently against her face as she teleported herself onto the roof. She took another sip of her tea, set it down in a safe place and uncharacteristically stretched her limbs in the morning sun, inhaling a deep, refreshing breath. Even though she was more than 5 floors above the kitchen, she could still hear Cyborg and Beast Boy yelling, but forced herself to push the faint sounds away from her mind. Sitting down, she crossed her legs and closed her eyes, the back of her neck tingling again as she levitated herself and cleared her head. She began to chant softly, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos… Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

Some time later—she didn't know how long exactly—her lilac eyes opened and rested on the city overlooked by the Titan's Tower. She could see people lying about on the beach, cars moving around like tiny ants among the tall buildings, but for some reason, her gaze shifted to the eastern part of the city, towards the run-down stadium where they had battled Atlas a few years ago. Squinting slightly, her sharp eyes caught sight of a brief flash. It disappeared a second later only to appear again, and then it stopped once more. It was too far away to ascertain, but she could see a speck—possibly a person—moving about the barren field, and a group of other people surrounding it.

Shrugging, Raven closed her eyes and started to clear her mind again. It was probably just a bunch of kids playing tag.

What she didn't see, as she begun chanting, was the faint flicker of pink as a bright red light suddenly shot upwards to the sky—from the spot she had her eyes on just a few seconds ago.

* * *

Dante prided himself to be a man with a style of his own. Regardless, he still had no idea how some information from someone he didn't even know had managed to bring him from one end of the country to this strangely named place called Jump City. He had been pursuing—hunting, to be more precise—his brother, Vergil, for over a year now and although he would never admit it (it would seriously hurt his ego), he was desperate for any lead. The anonymous tip-off he had received one day was enough to send him scouring throughout his city, though he did not expect ending up in another town miles away.

_Jump City, huh?_ His eyes warily scanned the metropolitan before him, taking note of the weird T-shaped structure on an island just off the coast. He raised an eyebrow as he studied it for a moment. Was it some sort of… monument? Maybe like the Statue of Liberty? He saw something move on the roof of the structure, and then it stopped. Was it a person?

The faint sound of laughter shifted his attention back to where he was and he caught sight of some children running around in a nearby park. He stepped back into the shadows, a strong hand gripping the sword on his back. It would be wise to stay hidden while he searched the city. He didn't know how friendly people here were to strangers running around with weapons.

A rumble in his stomach reminded him he had not had breakfast. Jumping down from his vantage point, he walked to the other end of the abandoned stadium he had sought shelter at the night before, his boots crunching on the dry grass. He was a distance away from the run-down entrance when his eyes suddenly widened. Spinning around just in time to catch the thin blade sailing through the air towards him, he reached for one of his handguns. The sharp metal of the blade cut into his gloved hand but he seemed unconcerned about the drops of blood on the ground. Instead, he grinned arrogantly at the crouching creatures appearing before him, grotesquely misshapen and clutching long handed scythes. They hissed menacingly, taking slow, stiff steps to him.

"So Vergil _is_ here, huh?" Dante snickered. "Man am I glad I didn't waste my time after all. Well then…" He whipped out Ebony, twirling it skilfully before cocking it towards his targets. "Let's get this party started!" Quick as lightning, he hurled the blade with inhuman precision and leapt into the air. Just as the blade struck the head of one of the demons, he reached for his other handgun, Ivory, and fired mercilessly. The rain of bullets descended upon the creatures, but some of them managed to jump back and avoid them.

Fire surging through his veins and setting off his adrenaline, Dante replaced his handguns with his broadsword and heaved the heavy blade down, crushing the writhing demon below him. He always loved the feel of battle; the feel of his powers—his _father's_ powers—rushing through his body. He took another strong swing of his sword around his head, the surface of the blade reflecting the rays from the sun and chopping off the limbs of the other creatures surrounding him. The lifeless fiends were disintegrating into sand but more and more were reappearing.

"Looks like this is gonna be one helluva party." He smirked, resting his weapon on his shoulder and scanning the menacing horde of creatures around him. Without another word, he charged forward with a deadly thrust of his sword, impaling a few demons before pulling out, taking another leap and slamming down to split open a couple of heads. Blood sprayed over his red overcoat, making it seem even darker. He held his sword, Rebellion, to his face and whispered somewhat fondly to it, "Go have some fun, baby." With a mighty cry, he sent it spinning like a boomerang towards the rest of the creatures and took out Ebony and Ivory again, blasting away at either side. He could hear the sounds of metal slashing flesh, the whipping of the sword against the wind and the howls of anguish. When he held out his hand with a silent command, Rebellion instantly spun back to him and he caught it effortlessly.

A quick look around the field showed there were only a few demons left. He wasted no time in finishing them off and triumphantly watched their disintegrating bodies, panting slightly from the workout. The sudden silence hanging in the air seemed heavy with tension. He paused for a moment and listened intently for any panicked shouts or screams. Apparently no one appeared to have heard him at all. Then again, most of the buildings surrounding the run-down stadium were abandoned as well.

A sudden flash in the sky caught his eyes. Spontaneously, he looked upwards and saw the clouds directly above the field beginning to darken and swirl. Although the sun was shining brightly, he heard the sound of thunder cracking. The swirling clouds moved faster, almost as if they were forming a portal of some sort. The ground beneath his feet started to flicker and he instinctively jumped back, then leapt onto the stands nearby just in time to see a bright beam of red light shoot to the clouds in the sky, tracing a large circle on the field before him. He could see the ghoulish forms floating within the light, hissing and cackling madly.

A portal gradually appeared within the beam of light and scythe-wielding creatures began to crawl out, snarling hungrily as they looked around their new surroundings. The beam grew a brighter red, beginning to pulse. On the stands, Dante silently watched the hordes of demons appearing below. His hand was on the hilt of Rebellion, but he made no move to fight. That would have been futile. He knew he wouldn't stand a chance against that many of them; not while the portal to the Underworld was that nearby.

"And so it begins…" he muttered, narrowing his eyes as more and more creatures jumped out of the light. "Just what the hell are you planning, Vergil?"

He didn't notice the ruby pendant at his neck flickering slightly, almost as if it was pulsing along with the portal before him.

* * *

"Um… Robin…" Starfire called as she stared out the window from the living room. Beast Boy and Cyborg were still going at it, even half an hour after breakfast. Robin was listening to the radio, cranking it up a bit to drown the shouting. He had awoken in good spirit but the argument since breakfast was beginning to get to him and his mood was starting to darken. Suppressing a sigh, he glanced at the Tamaranian girl wearily. "Yes, Star?"

"Why is there light coming from the sky?"

"It's the sun, Star… Don't you know that already?"

"No… Why is there _red_ light coming from the sky?"

_What is she talking about?_ Robin got off from his seat and approached the girl. "What do you mean, Star? What red li—" He froze halfway through, his eyes widening behind his mask. He thought Starfire had probably been mixing things up again, but he definitely did not expect to see what he was seeing at all. Somewhere on the eastern side of the city was a bright column of crimson energy, flowing upwards to the sky. He could see the flashes of lightning in the clouds just above and when he squinted hard enough, he could also make out something hovering slowly, encircling the red column.

"What the _hell_ is that?"

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**Author's Note: I hope that went well. Please do review…. :)  
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	2. Chapter 2: Nevermore

**Author's Note: Thanks very much to the people who reviewed the last chapter; Lady Lestat, RazielsGhost, Devil's bride, Sliver of Melody and Ryukyu. I wasn't thinking of starting the second chapter very soon but after reading your reviews, I just got a sudden burst of inspiration and the result was this 15-page chapter. :-)**

**To Kirbilius Clausius, your 'review' confused me because it did not appear to be referring to any part of the story at all but was sort of more like an observation of the game. Anyhow, thanks for sharing your point of view.

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**

**CHAPTER TWO**

Raven's eyes shot open in annoyance as she heard a low beeping, but the first thing she saw was the pillar of red light on the other side of Jump City. More precisely, from her point of view, she saw that the light was in the abandoned stadium she had been looking at a few minutes ago. She widened her eyes as she caught sight of an eel-like creature floating about the column, suddenly sensing an overwhelming source of dark energy coming from the strange apparition. _What in Azar's name is that? _ A cold, unpleasant feeling was slowly crawling into her stomach. Her mind was far too occupied to notice the blinking brooch fastened on her cloak or the faint sound of the Titan alarm. 

"Yo, Raven!" Cyborg's voice over the speakers near the door leading to the rooftop made her jump. "Trouble in the city! Get down here pronto!"

Still levitating, Raven drew her cloak and immediately phased through a few floors to reach the living room. Amber lights were flashing and she saw Starfire and Beast Boy staring out of the window intently. "Okay," she said monotonously to Robin, who was standing nearby with his arms folded and a grim expression on his face. "Who is it this time? Mad Mod? Or Dr. Light, perhaps?" She did not like being interrupted when she was meditating and just then, she seriously felt like beating somebody up.

"No idea," answered Cyborg instead, studying the scanner on his arm. "Reports are coming in about that huge flying thing. It looks like some sort of… dragon or somethin'… And that red pillar is at the stadium on 24th Ave."

An alarming thought suddenly flashed in Raven's mind. "I saw some people down there a few minutes ago," she said. "Do you think…?"

Robin looked up sharply, his eyes narrowing. "Are you sure?"

"Quite positive."

"Then we must rescue them!" Starfire cried. "Robin, they could be in danger!" The leader of the Titans cursed under his breath before turning to Raven. He gestured towards the city. "Do you think you could teleport us there?" he questioned. The dark-haired goth nodded. Her powers had grown substantially over the years and although she had to meditate longer, she now had more control of them. Teleporting the team to another location used to demand intense focus from her, but it was a little easier now. She pulled her hood on and started murmuring, "Azarath, Metri—"

"Dude! You're not gonna leave me here like you did the last time, are you?" Beast Boy's whine interrupted her. 3 pairs of eyes immediately glared him down; one masked, the other bi-coloured and the third flaring with white energy, making him gulp nervously. Raven gritted her teeth and growled, "Keep talking and I _might_ decide to accidentally drop you off on the way…"

A sheet of black energy engulfed them all as she continued her chant and it took them less than a minute to reappear on the large, barren field of the stadium. Raven was sweating a little, her neck tingling. She might have more control of her powers but teleporting more than one person still required the utmost concentration of her will.

The column of red seemed far larger now that they were standing before it. Cyborg and Beast Boy were staring, dumbfounded, at the ominous swirls of dark clouds and the large eel-like creature, floating about where the strange translucent pillar met the sky, but the others already noticed the half-crouched, snarling beasts approaching them slowly. Each misshapen fiend was clutching a long scythe, foaming about their open mouths. Their eyes appeared to be empty sockets with a red glint in them. Robin equipped his staff, taking a small defensive step back. "Damn… What the hell _are_ this things?"

Raven cast a quick eye around the stadium, expecting to see one of the familiar faces of the many villains they had defeated countless times, but nobody seemed to be around. A slight movement somewhere on the stands caught her eyes and she instinctively turned, just in time to see a flash of silver. That triggered something in her mind, almost like a déjà vu, but Robin's voice shifted her attention back to advancing creatures, "They're coming from that column, and it looks like some sort of… portal or something. Raven, any sign of those people you saw?"

"No. Maybe they left…" she replied but Starfire worriedly continued, "Or perhaps they were attacked by these strange creatures. I do hope they are unharmed."

"I can't get any readings," Cyborg reported, looking back and forth from his scanner and the salivating creatures slowly advancing to them. "Whatever these things are, they're not from Earth."

"Dude, ya think?" Beast Boy chipped in.

"Well, they definitely didn't come here for a vacation." Robin narrowed his eyes, gripping his bo-staff tighter. "Cyborg and Beast Boy, you guys take the left flank. Raven, Star and I will handle the other side. We'll take care of them now and get our answers later. Titans, go!"

Beast Boy transformed into a Triceratops and charged at the horde of creatures, effortlessly knocking them over like a set of bowling pins. The horns on his lowered head mauled into a number of them. A few clung onto him, slashing at him with their scythes but only managing to scratch his hard, reptilian skin. Cyborg readied his sonic cannon and blasted them off him. They dropped onto the ground with inhuman screams of anguish, some disintegrating into sand and dust, their blood splattering onto the ground.

On the other side of the field, Starfire took to the air, throwing starbolts at the fiends below her. Robin was deftly evading the clumsy attacks by the creatures and incapacitating them with strong, skilled swings of his bo-staff while trying to get closer to the radiating column. Now that he was nearer, he was certain the strange object was a portal, considering a few more of the fiends were appearing from it. What he needed to do next was find a way to close it…

Behind him, Raven levitated slowly, her violet eyes flaring. Forming spikes of dark energy, she hurled them towards the snarling beasts and then sent some broken seats from the stands smashing onto them. A few of the remaining creatures made sudden lunges to her, their blades raised in an attack, but she formed a protective shield around her, fending off their futile slashes and making them recoil from the impact. Before her enemies could recover, she telekinetically snatched the long scythes from their grasps and sent them spinning, like deadly projectiles, back to the creatures, striking them in the head and neck to bring them down.

"There's no end to these guys!" Cyborg yelled from the other side as he smashed yet another creature into the nearby wall. "Yo, Robin, if you're gonna do something about that portal thing, do it now!"

"I can't… get to it…" Robin gritted his teeth, delivering another blow at his target, successfully knocking it back, and then reached for a set of the custom made grenades from his utility belt. He did not see the reaping hook behind him, poised to send a downward slash. From the air, Starfire, who always kept an eye out for him—unconsciously, perhaps—cried out in fear, "Robin, behind you!"

Spinning around with a gasp, Robin looked up just in time to see the lethal scythe being encased in black energy, inches from his face. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration, Raven sent the creature flying towards Cyborg, who readied his fist and crushed it with a single, powerful blow. Beast Boy, in the form of a T-Rex, was finishing off the remaining fiends on that side of the field, but more creatures were still coming from the portal.

"Thanks, Raven." Robin gave her the thumbs-up, but her eyebrows were raised in surprise, staring at something behind him. In the air, Starfire's emerald eyes were as wide as saucers, also gazing intently. She pointed tentatively and said, "Um, Robin… There appears to be someone approaching…"

True enough, a figure in dark red was casually walking towards the horde of beasts in front him. In his hand was a gleaming broadsword and in one quick, precise swing of his weapon, he sliced off the heads of some of the creatures. Swiftly evading the attacks of the others, he leapt into the air and fired what appeared to be two handguns, but just before he reached the ground, he grasped his sword again and delivered a deadly downward strike on the unsuspecting beasts below him. The stranger landed near Robin, who instinctively took a battle stance. Just because he seemed to be the enemy of the enemy doesn't make him a friend.

"Pull back," the man commanded laconically. "You won't stand a chance against them. Not while the portal is still open."

"Who the hell are you?" Robin questioned warily, still unsure about the guy's intentions. The others were already regrouping with their team leader; Cyborg and Beast Boy taking the defensive formation and carefully watching the predating fiends around them. Starfire was still in the air, close to Robin, but Raven remained behind. The hood over her head prevented anyone from seeing the expression on her face, which was exactly what she wanted just then. Now that the stranger was up close, she definitely did not want people seeing her slightly alarmed look. She had another sense of déjà vu and it was the man's silver hair that jogged something in her memory. He was clad in a red coat, unbuttoned to reveal his bare, well-chiselled chest. His sword and holsters for his guns seemed to be strapped on his back. Underneath his platinum bangs was a pair of piercing cyan eyes.

"Who the hell are _you_ guys?" the stranger retaliated in challenging tone.

"_Hello_?" Beast Boy flapped his arms about, feeling his ego drop down a notch. "Can you not see it? We're the _Teen Titans_. Were you born yesterday or something?"

The guy was about to respond when the creatures around them suddenly began to howl, as if in agony. The column of crimson light started to pulse dangerously, the clouds above it gradually melting away. Up in the sky, the dragon-like beast appeared to squirm, its mouth open in a hollow roar. The Titans took a step back but the red clad stranger merely stood his ground, looking silently at the creatures that did not appear to be pursuing them any further. When the pillar began to darken, pulsating more rapidly, Robin turned urgently to the Raven, but she was already forming a dome of black energy over all of them, including the mysterious newcomer. She didn't know why; she just followed her intuition, and something at the back of her mind was telling her he needed to be alive.

The empath finished placing the shield just as the crimson pillar erupted in a shockwave of red. The almost seismic waves rumbled towards the remaining fiends, cracking the concrete walls of the stadium and shattering the windows of the dilapidated commentator's room. Then, as quickly as the minor earthquake occurred, the column and beasts shimmered away, leaving no traces of their existence whatsoever, apart from the puddles and splatters of blood on the dry ground. Even the large creature in the air had disappeared.

When Raven lowered the shield, the sudden emptiness on the field made them stare in bewilderment. The sword-wielding stranger chuckled bitterly, calmly walking away from the team, his arms spread open to gesture at the wide area before him. "Well, what do ya know? Pretty random, huh?"

"Wha..? Did I… What the… Where'd the bad guys go?" Beast Boy gaped, clutching his green hair in disbelief, but Robin's attention was somewhere else. He carefully approached the silver-haired man, a hand still gripping his staff just in case, but a part of him was beginning to think the stranger was harmless—to them, at least. _If he **was**__ going to hurt any one of us, he wouldn't be standing there doing nothing anyway… _he sensibly thought.

"Hey… You're not from around here, are you?" Robin said slowly. The stranger turned to him with a shrug and replied, "In case you haven't noticed, no… Who did you say you guys were again?"

"We're the _TEEN TITANS_," Beast Boy repeated as he crossed his arms, his chest swelling up in pride and self-importance. "And since you haven't heard of us, _I… _am the amazing, shape shifting Beast Boy with drop dead gorgeous looks and awesome moves to kick your—"

"Doesn't he ever shut up?" The guy looked inquiringly at Robin but a monotonous voice answered him instead. "Believe me, that's not the worst part of him…" Raven said drily, unable to resist an opportunity to squash Beast Boy's ego to a place lower than dirt. Her heart did a double take when the man turned to her—not in the giddy, bashful, girly way (like that time with Aqualad…), but rather, in an alarming manner. There was something about his cyan eyes which made her a little apprehensive and now that she thought about it, she also sensed a strange aura about him. She was suddenly inclined to step behind Cyborg's protective stature, away from his stare.

"You were the one who shielded us before," he remarked, a thoughtful look on his face. "Not bad... That's a pretty neat trick, you know."

"It wasn't a trick," she said, suddenly feeling annoyed. She didn't know why that casual comment of his made her flare up. Her eyes flashing dangerously, she narrowed her gaze at him. As of that moment, she made up her mind that she _definitely_ didn't like the guy.

"What else can you do? Pull rabbits out of a hat, perhaps?" he continued with an arrogant smile.

_Anger is pointless…_ Raven kept repeating that sentence in her head, like a mantra. All these years, she had managed to keep her emotions in check, so she was surprised—and a little piqued—that he was able to get her worked up over such a silly matter. Even Beast Boy had to do better if he really wanted to agitate her.

"Okaaay…" Robin hurriedly stepped in at that point, seeing that they were both already starting off on the wrong foot. Plastering a good-natured grin on his face, the Boy Wonder stuck his hand out and said, "I'm Robin, leader of the Titans." Following the man's remarks about Raven, he was quite sure that he didn't pose a threat to them.

The stranger stared at the outstretched hand for a while before slowly reaching out to shake it, albeit awkwardly. Robin then gestured towards the Tamaranian girl by his side. "This is Starfire," he said and immediately regretted introducing her because the man was already stepping up to the redhead, leaning into her with a charming smile.

"Starfire, huh?" he repeated, reaching for her gloved hand. "That's a pretty name. Maybe we should go out for a drink later… Get to know each other…" Star merely stared at him with a blank look and, surprisingly, was unable to say a word, but Robin already had enough of the flirting and chuckled a little nervously, grabbing Starfire's other hand and pulling her towards him while motioning to the others behind, "That's Cyborg, and Beast Boy, and… well, you've met Raven…"

"Right…" The man nodded, crossing his arms. "So what are you guys? Vigilantes?"

"This is our city. We take care of it," answered Robin simply before peering at the man in curiosity. "You seem to know a little about those creatures and that portal. Who exactly are you?"

The stranger remained silent, as if considering whether to tell them his identity or not. Robin's quick eye noticed the tense clenching of his jaw muscles and made a mental note not to keep his guard down. If it took him a while just to tell them who he was, he must have some questionable past.

"Name's Dante," the man finally said. He spoke confidently and Robin decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "I'm from up north. And about those creatures, let's just say I've had previous run-ins with them before."

"We think there were some people here before the attack. Any idea where they went?"

Dante shrugged. "I've been here since dawn. Haven't seen anybody around."

"Man, what were those things?" Cyborg asked, looking at his scanner. "I couldn't get _any_ readings on them. And that huge thing in the sky… That's just crazy!"

"They're demons from the Underworld," Dante said quietly. "That red light was the portal from it, and once it's open, nothing can stop them. You can destroy a hundred but thousands will just pour out." He paused for a moment, nodding towards the clouds. "And that thing in the sky… That's Leviathan…"

"This… Leviathan…" Starfire began tentatively, frowning at the new word. "It did not appear to be aware of us. Why did it not attack?"

"Because it's supposed to be the guardian of the Temen-Ni-Gru, not some portal watchdog…"

"Uh… What's a… the-man-he-grew?" Beast Boy scratched his head.

"The Temen-Ni-Gru," Raven said unexpectedly, drawing their eyes—even Dante's—to her. "It's an ancient edifice of the Underworld; the throne of the ruler of all demons—and the main vessel from the demon world to _our_ world. According to a myth, millenniums ago, one of the demons turned on its own kind and tried to destroy it, but when he failed, he sealed it within the depths of hell instead, by means of an ancient ritual… or so legend says… "

"I see someone's done their homework." Dante observed, beginning to change his view on this moody girl. She merely stared at him without a word, her gaze cold and challenging. He couldn't see her face beneath that hood of hers, but there was something intriguing about her. He could tell from those secretive, violet eyes that she probably wasn't human as well.

"So that portal… Where did it come from? Why here?" Robin rubbed his chin thoughtfully, turning back to the swordsman, who shrugged. "Beats me," Dante muttered, suddenly not wanting to divulge any more information. He had already said too much…

"My guess is that someone's trying to reverse the ritual," Raven voiced out. Cyan eyes darted sharply to her but she was looking at Robin. Dante raised his eyebrows. Her words immediately made him see her in a new light. _She's pretty good… _He silently admitted._ Not bad at all…_

"Yeah, okay, but where the _heck_ did it go?" Beast Boy's voice went up a couple of octaves. "Why open the portal, then close it? What's going _on_ around here?"

There was a silence as they turned inquiringly to Dante, but he merely shrugged again. Raven narrowed her eyes in suspicion, watching his body language to see if there were any signs of nervousness, but he remained unfazed. She still didn't trust him, though. Something about him just didn't quite fit.

"We should head back and monitor the city," suggested Cyborg. "If that thing can disappear like that, isn't it possible for it to just reappear again? And it could be anywhere."

"Agreed. I think monitoring the city would be most wise," Starfire concurred.

"I might be able to find out more about that portal or the Temen-Ni-Gru from some of my books," Raven added. The young leader of the Titans nodded. "Alright," he said. He hesitated before awkwardly looking at their new acquaintance. "So, uh… Dante… What're you up to?"

The platinum-haired man was already nonchalantly walking away. He stopped at Robin's question, his head turned slightly. "I'll be around," he said shortly. "Is there a problem?"

"No, I just thought if you haven't got a place to crash tonight—" Robin started, but a dreary voice echoing in his head made him stop instantly, _'**Don't**__ even think about it…'_

His masked eyes turned to meet Raven's sharp glare. Although her face was partly hidden, he could almost sense her animosity. _'What?' _he responded.

_'I know what you're thinking. There's **no way**__ you're inviting him home. I don't trust him… He's hiding something…'_

_'… He seems alright to me.'_

_'I—**don't**__—trust him. He could be bad news.' Like Terra was_, Raven stopped herself just in time from telepathically verbalizing that last thought. Beast Boy would never forgive her if he knew.

_'But—"_

_'Besides… you don't want him around Starfire, do you? He seems to be quite the charmer…'_

_That_ shut Robin up at once and Raven couldn't help a small smile of triumphant. She always knew the Tamaranian girl was the best weapon against him…

"Thanks for the offer, but I've got myself covered," Dante ended the telepathic discussion himself. He continued walking before he stopped again, slowly turning back to the team. "Say, any decent places to get breakfast around here?"

"Oh!" Starfire suddenly squealed in eagerness, her emerald orbs shining in delight. Somehow, Raven kind of knew what was coming… "I propose that we _all_ go for the pizza! Beast Boy and Cyborg have been 'going at each other' ever since the day had begun, so mightn't the pizza make things right? And we could all get to know Dante, our new friend! Do you not think it is a good idea, Robin?"

Robin was speechless. A part of him wanted to laugh at Star's naivety and another part was noticing the interested looks Dante was giving her. The result was a mixture of annoyance and amusement, if that was possible. Raven, on the other hand, would have already murdered Starfire if looks could kill. Cyborg and Beast Boy both seemed unaware of anything.

"I'm up for it if it's your treat," Dante said bluntly, grinning at the redhead. He could never turn down a free meal… or a chance to be more acquainted with a babe…

_'Still think he seems alright?' _Robin ignored the dry voice in his head and reluctantly conceded, "Uh… Sure…" He couldn't say no to Star anyway.

"I'll see you guys at home," mumbled Raven monotonously. She didn't mind pizza, but she refused to go if _Dante_ was. For some reason, she was beginning to hate his guts. Beast Boy was already a handful to deal with so she definitely wouldn't be able to stand an arrogant, smart-mouthed bastard.

"Aw, come on, Raven. Pizza after the butt kicking? You know you want to…" The green shape-shifter tried to persuade her but she merely glared at him and said shortly, "I'll pass."

"But Raven… do you not want to learn more about our new friend?" Starfire asked, her jade eyes wide in disappointment.

"No," came the firm but curt reply. Before they could say another word, she took the shape of a raven and flew off. If they wanted to hang out with that aggravating man, they were going to have to walk to the pizza place themselves. She sure as hell wasn't going to teleport anyone.

* * *

"Why are you so moody?" Wisdom asked as she reached out for one of the black pieces on the chessboard before them. Suppressing a sigh, Raven was regretting going into her meditation mirror in a bad mood. She should have known agreeing to a chess game with Wisdom was a bad idea, but the truth was, she had actually felt kind of lonely without the others in the tower. Plus, she wanted to have a chat with Grumpy, but her other self had dragged her into a game the moment she stepped into her mind. 

"I'm not moody… I just don't like the guy, that's all…" she replied, telekinetically moving one of her pawns forward.

"Dante? What about him?"

"You're Wisdom; _You_ tell _me_…"

"Well…" Her pale-blue self studied the pieces on the board with a frown. "He does seem quite suspicious. Why did he come here, for instance…?"

Raven grunted, lightly tapping her foot in impatience. She liked chess but Wisdom always took ages to make a move. "What do you know about the Temen-Ni-Gru?" She figured if this was going to take a while, she might as well try and dig up some information in the meantime.

"Not much. I know what you know, of course. I'm in your head, remember?"

"Well, maybe you'd know where I should start looking it up, then… A little help here?"

Wisdom's hand reached for her bishop, hesitated, and then retreated. She was biting her lip, staring intently at the squares of black and white in front of her. Even under her hood, the intense look of focus on her face was clear. "Maybe you should try the Book of Azar first…" the emotion said distractedly, finally making a move. Almost instantly, Raven pushed her rook forward and that signalled another staring contest between Wisdom and the chessboard.

"This… is going to take a while, isn't it?" the goth muttered, the vein in her head popping to twice its size.

"Patience is a virtue, my dear Raven… I'm sure you've heard that one before… Now be quiet. I need to think…"

"… Can I forfeit?"

"Shh! Let me think!"

_Great… I'm being told off by myself…_ Raven's mood darkened. _Why does she have to act as if it's a matter of life or death anyway? _There was a silence as she watched Wisdom bite her nails, looking almost in a trance. For a second, she wondered if she herself looked like that when she played chess with Cyborg or Robin…

"Lighten up, Raven, or Grumpy will be along any minute now…" Wisdom unexpectedly said with a good-natured grin.

"Actually, she's the reason I came. I thought Happy locked her up. How'd she get out?" Raven demanded. Wisdom shrugged indifferently. "I don't know… Maybe Hate helped her break out," she replied. "I can't say for sure. Things were crazy in here about an hour ago. Everyone was just running around—even Solitude. They were all making a din and Intelligence and I tried to calm them down but nobody would listen to us…"

"Huh… An hour ago, you say?" Raven raised an eyebrow. "That was probably around the time Robin _officially_ introduced us to that annoying guy… I was _this_ close to sending him to another dimension…"

"You can't deny it, though… Doesn't he seem rather familiar? Maybe you've met him before… in a, I don't know, a certain dream, perhaps…" remarked Wisdom, uncharacteristically giggling girlishly. Raven couldn't help going slightly red as her words hit home. "That dream this morning?" she blurted.

"Of course, silly." Wisdom rolled her eyes. "We _all_ knew what happened. Happy couldn't stop laughing and Lust was almost mad with delight. Maybe you should go have a word with her. She looked like she was planning something…"

"Great… As if I don't have enough on my mind already…" Raven sighed. She watched as Wisdom had a hand hovering on one of the black knights, chewing her lip thoughtfully. The Titan momentarily considered meditating—it _would_ be a wise use of time.

"Didn't that silver hair of his ring any bells?" Wisdom's dreamy voice broke the brief pause. "I kind of thought he looked like the person in our dream. You must admit the resemblance is uncanny."

"Can we… stop talking about that, please? I'm having enough trouble dealing with what happened at the stadium…" said Raven as she squeezed her eyes shut, massaging her temples where a sudden headache was beginning to develop. She didn't know Wisdom, of all the people in her mind, could be that annoying. _Damn, my head is such a mess…_ She thought to herself. This chess game was starting to drag on too long… "Aren't you _ever_ going to make a move?" she growled.

"Just… give me another 10 minutes…" was the mumbled response.

"That's it. I surrender." Raven used her powers to rearrange the chess pieces, ignoring Wisdom's disappointed cries. "There. Checkmate. You win… Happy now?"

"Oh, why are you such a spoil sport?" Wisdom whined. "All I ever wanted was just one game. You never spend much time with me, Raven."

"Sorry, but I've got more important things to do." As Raven got up and left, Wisdom appeared to have a surprising change of mood and was cheerily starting another chess game by herself again. Raven approached one of the many stone archways around her and went through the portal, immediately finding herself in a sunny meadow. She heard a giggle and turned to see another of her emotions—this time one in pink—crawling through some thick, waist-deep grass. An eyebrow instantly shot upwards. "Uh… Happy, what're you doing?" she asked drily.

"Yikes!" the emotion squealed, jumping up immediately, and then beamed brightly when she saw who it was. "Raven! How nice to see you!"

"Right… What were you doing again?"

"Oh, I was playing hide-and-seek with Brave," the pink girl giggled again before turning around and suddenly hollering, giving Raven quite a shock, "_Brave!_ Come on out!_ Raven's here!" _

Raven couldn't help wincing at the shrill tone. She couldn't bear the thought that that was probably how she would sound like if Happy got _too_ much freedom in her mind. Her attention shifted to the green-clad person who had jumped down from a tree with an exhilarated grin on her face. "Hey there, sister! How's it going?" she chirped, giving the goth a smack on the back. The pink emotion beside her burst out laughing, for some apparent reason which only she herself could fathom.

"Settle down, you two." Raven commanded tersely. "Happy, how did Grumpy get out? You were supposed to keep watch on her." The girl in pink merely shrugged nonchalantly and chuckled, "I dunno. I was playing aeroplanes when everyone suddenly appeared and they were running around and yelling at each other and there she was! But don't worry, I locked her up again! And Brave chased that annoying Hate away and stuck her back in that cave of hers! Don't you think we did a great job?" Her ear-to-ear grin was more creepy than elated.

"Uh… sure. Thanks. And make sure Grumpy's secured. I don't want her trying to free Rage again like the last time…"

"Booya!" Brave suddenly screamed, almost giving Raven another heart attack. "Did we kick some demon butts just now or what? Come on, gimme a high-five!" She raised her palm excitedly but Raven merely gave her a dull look and replied, "I'll pass."

"Aw, lighten up!" Happy was starting to skip around merrily, flapping her arms about. Even though it was like gazing into a mirror—except that she was wearing pink—Raven had to admit her other self looked absolutely _ridiculous_. She couldn't imagine what Cyborg and Beast Boy were thinking when they in there a few years ago. "By the way," said the pink emotion, her eyes dancing. "That was a funny dream we had this morning! Heh heh heh…!"

"Not again…" Raven groaned, feeling her headache returning. "Why is _everyone_ talking about that stupid thing? It's just a dream… It doesn't mean _anything_…"

"It was boring," yawned Brave. The look on her face showed she was clearly losing interest in the subject. "I think we should have more of those dreams where we beat up Dr. Light, or maybe smash Slade up with rocks… You know, dreams where we're kicking asses! Those are more fun."

"Or maybe, dreams where we're in Candy Land and the—" started Happy in excitement, but was interrupted by a muffled voice which echoed blaringly around the place like a megaphone, "Raven? Friend Raven, are you there?"

Raven and her two other selves looked up, Happy giggling again. The dark Titan sighed, "Starfire. I guess that means the others are home. I hope to Azar that Robin didn't invite that aggravating man home…"

"Dante had some pretty cool moves, though," Brave remarked as she leapt into a fighting stance and attempted to do a poor imitation of the silver-haired man's actions. Happy, unsurprisingly, was doubling over with laughter, but Raven just rolled her eyes and left the pair. She headed towards the main portal out of her mind and in a second, was back in her dark room. Feeling a little light-headed, as she always did whenever she used the meditation mirror, she moved to the door and warily slid it open.

Starfire stood before her, a bright smile on her pretty face. She was holding a small pizza box and a steaming mug. "Hello, Raven! We have just returned from the Palace of Pizza and I thought you might desire a slice of the cheesy goodness, so Robin purchased a take-away. I made some of your tea for you as well!"

"Uh… thanks…" Raven raised an eyebrow at the two things in the Tamaranian's hands. Herbal tea and pizza didn't exactly complement each other, but it was a nice gesture from the alien anyway.

"Um…" Starfire began uncertainly as Raven took the pizza and tea from her. "May I… speak with you for a moment, please? It is about a matter of great concern to me…"

_Oh no… here we go again… _The half-demon inwardly sighed and almost automatically pushed the door open wider. Every time Starfire wanted to talk about 'a matter of great concern', it was either a girl problem she didn't want to ask Robin, or something about their leader himself. Regardless, Raven was always ready to help (although she did not show it…) and in doing so had learnt to open up to the other girl. She was the only person Raven willingly invited into her room, even after all these years.

Starfire flew into the dimly lit room. The curtains were drawn to keep the sunlight out and the redhead found herself itching to tear them down to brighten the place. As she would readily tell anyone, Tamaranians actually disliked the dark…

"So, what's up?" Raven, feeling a little hungry, was already digging in to a slice of pizza. She was sitting on her bed, her legs crossed, the mug of tea and pizza box levitating beside her. Starfire hovered hesitantly in the air, her hands clasped rather tightly. "Well, you see…" she started. "I have been… thinking… for a number of days, and… well… do you think I should… do the 'asking out' to Robin, as they always say in the movies?"

Although this was rather sudden, Raven was not surprised at all. She had long known that her alien friend held feelings for their young leader. "Wouldn't you rather if he asked you?" she mumbled and immediately felt that was a silly question. It was Robin, for crying out loud. He might be the brave, courageous hero the citizens of Jump City knew him by but he wouldn't have the guts to confront the girl of his affections.

"Do you think he will?" Starfire's emerald eyes grew wide with hope.

"Uh, maybe not. Robin's not very good at expressing himself…" Raven admitted.

"Perhaps I could get him to go to the movies with me? You do not think that would make me appear… 'desperate', do you?"

"Maybe not the movies… He might not be very comfortable with that… How about something more casual, like a walk?"

Her suggestion immediately brightened Starfire up. Clapping her hands in glee, she chirped, "Oh, glorious! A walk would be _perfect!_ We could journey to the park, or to the beach, or to the lake, or perhaps to the—"

"The park would be fine, Star. I'm sure Robin would love that."

Starfire flew around happily with a sigh of delight, already beginning to plan her date. Still munching on the pizza, Raven merely stared at her, slightly amused. A sudden thought came to mind and before she knew it, the question was already out of her lips, "By the way, did you find out more about that Dante guy?"

Starfire stopped and blushed a little, almost guiltily, or so Raven thought. "Oh, not much. He did not appear to want to talk about himself, but he _did_ want to know more about me…"

"I'm sure he did." Raven rolled her eyes. "Was he hitting on you the whole time—like he did at the stadium? Robin must have been going crazy…"

"Hitting… on me?" Star cocked her head in puzzlement. "But he did not hurt me. And Robin… I do not know why, but he was acting strangely…"

"Star," Raven began, talking in the tone people used to address young children. "Remember when Robin went to the junior prom with Kitten?"

The Tamaranian's eyes glowed dangerously for a second. "Why would you bring up such an infuriating matter?" she almost snarled.

"Remember how you felt? Robin was probably feeling the same way about you just now…" Raven continued indifferently. "Well, that's what I sensed anyway…"

"Oh…" Starfire blinked, realisation showing on her face. "Truly? I did not think about that…"

"Anyway," Raven said again. "Did you at least find out why your new _friend_ came here?"

"He mentioned that he is in search of someone, and also that he is a demon hunter. I tried to find out what his favourite colour is, but he only ate the pizza and he did not seem very pleased with Beast Boy's attempts in fool playing…"

"A demon hunter?" Raven raised her eyebrows. _That explains why he's so familiar with those creatures…_ "Did he say any more about that portal?"

"No, he did not. Is something wrong, my friend? You seem displeased… I am sorry I was not able to find out more…"

"No, it's not you, Star," the goth said and took a sip of her tea, trying to keep a straight face as the usually delicious bitterness mixed with the saltiness from the pizza to produce a rather horrible, nasty taste in her mouth. She was suddenly reminded of the glorg worm pie of Tamaran that Starfire made once… "There's just… something about Dante that gets to me… He's definitely hiding something, and who knows, he could be dangerous…"

"There is much about you that even we, your team mates, do not know, Raven, but you are still our friend, are you not? Perhaps it is the same with Dante… Perhaps we are not meant to understand certain things about him, but that does not mean he is dangerous…" Starfire said sensibly, wrinkling her forehead in deep thought. Although she would reluctantly admit that Star was right, Raven didn't like knowing she was wrong.

"I still don't like him, though," she said obstinately, resisting the urge to scowl.

"Perhaps you just need to get to know him better." Starfire beamed as she flew to the door and opened it. "I shall now find Robin and propose to have the walk with him," she announced brightly. "Thank you, Raven, for your delightful advice."

"Sure," the empath replied with a shrug. "I better get working on finding out more about this Temen-Ni-Gru thing anyway."

As the door slid shut, Raven telekinetically reached for a number of books on the shelf and gently lowered the floating leftover pizza on the floor. Another object—the Book of Azar—encased in black energy, appeared from under her bed and settled before her. Levitating herself and the bunch of hardbacks around her, she began her intense search for more helpful information on the paranormal happenings of that morning.

So engrossed in her task was the dark Titan that she did not notice the meditation mirror on her dresser faintly pulsing a rosy reddish-pink…

* * *

**Author's Note: One of my weaknesses is writing battle scenes so do tell me how that fight at the stadium was. I also find writing Starfire's lines and keeping her in character pretty tough, since she's an alien and all, so it'd be great to get some feedback on how I've written her.**

**I realise this story might be a little slow on the plot side, but I will probably be focusing a lot of Raven and her thoughts because I've always liked that side of her and it's great fun to dive into her mind, or into 'Nevermore', as heaps of people call it. I enjoyed writing the part with her alter egos a lot:)**

**If you've played DMC3, some things in this chapter would definitely ring a bell. I won't be following the game's plot entirely, but might change a number of things instead.**

**Oh, and I wonder if anyone can guess what's going on with that meditation mirror...  
**


	3. Chapter 3: Angels & Demons

**Author's Note: Sorry for the late update, but things have been pretty crazy now that exams are upon me! I'm supposed to be studying Chemistry but I guess I couldn't help finishing this after those wonderful reviews for the last chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. It really made my day. **

**To LM22102: I guess another failing of mine is that I tend to write heaps just to cover about 1 percent of the storyline! Okay, I'll be sure to tone down on Raven's alter egos. As for more interactions between Raven and Dante, I'll be sure to go on to lots of that too! And thanks for the tip on writing Starfire. :) **

**To Luis: Actually, I did write that FFVIII fanfic, Truth, Lies & Destruction. I'm quite surprised you recognized me! Unfortunately, it was a horrible piece of writing and I realised a year or so ago that it definitely didn't have a future, since, when I thought about it, it was going to focus more on Xander and Rinoa instead of Rinoa and Squall, so I discontinued it. I'm glad you liked the battle scenes, though.**

**

* * *

CHAPTER THREE**

"_So, do you come here a lot?" Raven asked. She was sitting at the end of the wooden jetty, her slender legs dangling over the edge. She leaned back to look at the sky, her hands supporting herself, and inhaled a deep breath. The sunlight felt wonderful on her face; she'd never realised how pleasant it was before. A few metres away stood a figure in a blue coat, holding a fishing rod. The figure's head was turned away, effectively shielding its face from her eyes, but even from her point of view, she noticed the streaks of white in its hair. _

"_Only as much as you do," the mysterious figure replied in a strangely stiff but definitely male voice. He cast his bait with a strong swing and gazed at the flat sheet of greenish-blue in front of him. "The sun… It's nice, isn't it?" he remarked._

"_Mmm…" Raven shut her eyes and nodded, feeling the warm breeze tugging at her violet locks. She was without her cloak, but surprisingly felt perfectly at ease even in its absence. The soothing sound of the waves gently crashing upon the stilts of the platform she was on seemed to calm her mind; up to the point where she deemed it unnecessary to even find out who that man was._

"_If you're not careful, it might not be around for long," he warned._

"… _What do you mean?"_

"_There'll come a day when darkness is all that lights this world; when the souls of hell return to walk this earth again, and everything you know now will cease to exist," he said cryptically. "Sometimes, they—the humans—are merely pawns; liabilities we can replace. We kill one… a hundred… a thousand… What does it matter?"_

_Raven blinked, her eyebrows furrowed. "I don't understand…" she slowly admitted. "Why are you telling me this?" _

"_There are many things that we are not meant to understand, Raven; things that we simply have to accept," the figure said indifferently, beginning to draw his line in. "Like that prophecy at your birth, for instance… Did you actually **understand** why your father needed you to be his portal, or why he wanted every living thing to bow down to him? No… You just accepted it. You of all people should know that…"_

"_But I overcame him. That's all that matter… and he's not my father," she spat, clenching her fists as she looked at his relaxed stature. "He's a monster… I don't **need** to understand **anything** about him…"_

_"On the contrary, my sweet Raven…" the figure said in a chilling tone, reaching out to lift his squirming catch. Her eyes widened when she saw the dark, wriggling creature twist around with a hiss, the fishing hook clearly lodged between its bulging eyes. "Everything that's happened is just the beginning. You'll be learning **much** more about your father soon, and no matter what you do, you can't escape your true destiny." With inhuman speed, the man made a grab at the creature and tightened his grip on it, making it wriggle even more frantically. The hisses Raven heard were almost panicked, breathless; as if the strange beast itself somehow knew of its coming fate…_

_"Don't…" she said through gritted teeth, wanting to stop the torment. She tried to use her powers to free the helpless creature but nothing happened. Bewildered, she focused her will and tried again, but still, nothing._

_The figure chuckled hollowly and slowly turned to her. She squinted to see his face but although it was covered in shadows, she could almost sense the sinister smile on his lips. "You see, Raven," he started calmly. "Try all you might, but you can't change anything. No matter what you do, you can't stop what's about to happen." _

_There was a loud, sickening squish as the man crushed the thing in his hand mercilessly, the crimson blood splattering over his arm and the planks below him. Raven turned away, unable to meet his steely glare anymore. "What do you want from me?" she asked bitterly._

"_You'll know soon enough," the figure snickered. "Now be a good girl and get back to sleep. We don't want you blowing up the whole tower just because of a nightmare, do we?"_

"Raven?" the concerned voice at the door, accompanied by an urgent knock, made her involuntarily jump, blinking groggily. She found herself on her bed, the Book of Azar in her hands and the rest of her hardbacks sprawled untidily around her. Smoothing back her violet locks, she stifled a yawn and called out warily, "What?"

"Are you… alright in there?" came Robin's voice. "I've been knocking for the past few minutes."

Instinctively pulling up her hood, Raven pushed the large book in her hand away and levitated to the door, slowly sliding it open. The dark-haired leader of the Titans stood outside, a quizzical look on his masked face. "You okay?' he asked brotherly.

"It's nothing," she answered with a shrug. "I was looking through my books and I must have dozed off. What's up?"

"Well, you haven't come out in quite a while. We were just getting a little worried, " Robin said. "We ordered some Chinese… Why don't you join us?"

"… Sure," she replied after considering the offer for a while. She _was_ a little hungry, and living off herbal tea wasn't a very good idea after all…

"You sure you're okay? You look really tired." Robin studied the goth as they walked down the hallway. She ran weary fingers down her face and sighed, feeling her hood slip back. "I just… had a bad dream… and I _do_ feel a little tired…" she admitted. "Maybe I should lay off the books for a while…"

"By the way, did you manage to find out more about those portals?"

"A little, but much more about the Temen-Ni-Gru. I'll fill you and others in over dinner," Raven said. They reached the living room-cum-kitchen where Beast Boy was already chomping down on tofu eggs and noodles, lying lazily on the couch with his eyes glued to the large screen before him. However, he joined Cyborg and Starfire at the dining table when the two arrived.

"Hey, Raven," he called out. The Tamaranian beside him was beaming in joy. "It is glorious to see you out of your room, my dear friend," she chirped. "Please, do have the noodles with us!"

Inwardly cringing at the sight of mustard covered Chinese food, Raven gave her a watery smile and sat herself down in front of some fried rice instead. "I'll just have some of this, Star. Thanks."

"So, what can you tell us?" Robin said, taking his seat next to Starfire and reaching for some egg rolls.

"There wasn't much I could find about the portals from the Book of Azar, but there was a part on the Temen-Ni-Gru. Like I said before, it was supposed to be sealed in the Netherworld," started Raven. "Legend has it that, millenniums ago, this world was ruled by demons, and humans were enslaved by them. The Temen-Ni-Gru acted as a sort of tunnel from the Underworld, and as long as it was still standing, humanity was doomed never to be free… but one demon was different from the others; he had a soul, and he knew demons didn't belong to _this_ world… He was called Sparda."

"Sparda?" Starfire repeated thoughtfully at the mention of the name, a frown touching her brows. "That name seems familiar… I am quite certain my K'norfka, Galfore, said something about him in one of our many stories before the bed, but I might have been too young to care or understand…"

"Sparda turned out to be humanity's only hope," continued Raven. "He tried to destroy the tunnel, but when he failed, he sought out a ritual of some sort, and with that ritual, he managed to close the doorway from hell, prevent the Temen-Ni-Gru from rising again and send all the demons back to where they came from… but because he was one of them himself, even though he remained in this world, his demonic powers were sealed as well. After that… well, nobody really knew what happened to him then…"

Cyborg raised a mechanical eyebrow with a low whistle. "Wow… betcha wouldn't learn that in a history lesson…"

"So that portal the other day… Does it have anything to do with the ritual?" Robin frowned.

"Yeah. A few of my other books had more information about that. As I'd suspected, someone _is_ trying to reverse it," Raven said grimly, touching her chin meditatively. "I tried to find out what the ritual is, exactly, but there was nothing more in my books… Also, that red column appears during the early stages of the reversal. I don't know why it suddenly disappeared, though… but there's a high possibility it'll turn up again somewhere…"

"We've been monitoring the city for a few days now, but still no signs of any of those portals _or_ that Leviathan thing," Cyborg reported and pressed a button on his arm to display, on the screen in the lounge, various spots under tighter surveillance in the city. The main bridge appeared undisturbed with evening traffic moving to and fro, and the carnival by the pier seemed normal as well. The main street in the heart of town was still bustling with people. "Everything seems fine to me…"

"Still, it wouldn't be wise to let our guard down. Let's just continue the watch… That portal is bound to reappear somewhere…" Robin said, his masked eyes carefully scanning the large display before him.

"Man, and I thought all this demon thing was over when we kicked Trigon's butt…" muttered Beast Boy.

"Trigon was an inter-dimensional demon… He's different…" Raven pointed out. She took a moment to consider something, and then asked, "By the way, any signs of our new acquaintance?"

Robin shook his head. "No," he replied. "He's probably keeping a low profile, or maybe he's left town. Either way, it doesn't matter. I don't think he's dangerous… to us, I mean…"

"He knows more than he was telling us, I sensed it… What if we tracked him down?" suggested Raven thoughtfully. Cyborg arched an eyebrow up again. "And then what? Interrogate him? The guy probably likes to keep to himself… Kinda like you, Raven…"

_Kinda like _me She repeated in her head, amazed at what she had heard. _I'm _nothing _like that pompous bastard._ "What?" she barked, unable to stop herself. "Please, I beg to differ…"

"I just meant…" started Cyborg hesitantly, noticing her furious glare. He suddenly got the urge to switch into hibernating mode. Nearby, the rest of the team were taking sudden interests in their food. "Well… I mean, maybe he doesn't like… you know, telling people stuff… Maybe he… doesn't think people can handle it… You know, like you, Raven… You do that all the time… like, uh… staying cooped up in your room…" the half-man, half-machine stuttered.

She stared at him, her eyes narrowed slightly. "I just like my privacy, that's all," she defended herself in a huff. Suddenly losing her appetite, Raven pushed the rice in front of her away and got up, pulling on her hood to prevent them from seeing the annoyed expression on her face. "I'm going to my café," she announced. "… Don't wait up."

"Come on, Raven, don't be mad. Cyborg was just… being stupid…" Beast Boy said as he scratched his green hair nervously. The hulking Titan glared at him, but Raven merely continued walking to the front door. "Trust me," she muttered. "If I was mad, this whole place would be trashed by now…"

"Give it a rest, Beast Boy," she heard Robin quietly warn the shape-shifter. As she walked out the door, she tugged her sapphire cloak tighter around herself, feeling the chill evening breeze beginning to pick up. She was actually in the mood for a walk, but decided to take the easier way instead. Morphing into her raven form, she flew off into the night silently. It didn't take long for her to reach her favourite 'depressing café', as Starfire always called it. Although it was situated in one of the more run-down parts of the city, and almost surrounded by some very questionable alleyways, it was still quite popular among the locals at times.

Raven reverted to her true self in a dark alley and trudged down the quiet street towards the dimly lit café. The owner of the place, a sour-looking, middle-aged man of few words, looked up when she stepped in and grunted almost incoherently, seemingly uninterested, "The usual?"

She nodded without a word, heading to a table by a dark corner of the room; her regular spot. It was open mike and someone was on the stage, dramatically reading a depressing poem about his dead cat or whatnot. She pulled her hood back just as her tea arrived. Inhaling its scent, she wrapped her slightly cold fingers around the warm mug, bringing it to her lips and taking a sip, feeling the bittersweet liquid flowing down her throat. She couldn't resist a loud sigh of content. _This is _just _what I needed… _

"Haven't seen you around in a while," a monotonous voice, much like her own, reached her ears. She turned to see a black-clad, lanky guy with dark, messy hair looking at her from a nearby table. He was the guy from Blackfire's party a few years ago and a number of times, she had bumped into him again at the café. They shared a chat once in a while, and quite appropriately, his name was Goth…

"Been busy," she replied laconically. He wasn't annoying like some other guys she knew (a certain green face immediately popped into her head) and his quiet, cool manner was actually quite attractive. He wasn't very bad looking either, but after what happened with Malchior, she was reluctant to go down that path again, so she firmly kept him at arm's-length. He had made no attempts to court her—the conversations they had had remained casual—but being an empath, she sometimes sensed quite passionate emotions from him.

"So…" he began with a small grin, interrupting her train of thoughts, his unruly bangs almost covering his eyes. "What ya been up to?"

* * *

The cold breeze tugged at his red clothing as the drizzle lightly stung his face and chest, but Dante had no interest in the weather whatsoever. His attention was on something else—the platinum-haired man in front of him. His blue coat flapped gently in the wind, his greenish-blue eyes sharp and composed. A slim, oriental sword still in its sheath was in his hand, his stature confident but still. With a low snicker, Dante slowly paced around his end of the field, shaking his head. "It's been almost a year since we last met…" he remarked and outstretched his arms mockingly. "Aren't you gonna give your little brother a hug?" 

"Under the current circumstances, I would actually deem that unnecessary…" the man replied in a cold voice. "But I guess I'll have to give you credit for being able to track me down from such a distance… After all, even the bond between us has its limits…"

"Actually, I had some help," Dante smirked. "But at least it's good to know I haven't been wasting all my time so far. Looks like my luck hasn't run out yet, huh?"

"Still ever the optimist, aren't you, dear brother? I see the months haven't changed you at all."

Shrugging, Dante crossed his arms and shifted his weight to his other foot, lightly tapping a boot. "Likewise, Vergil…" he countered. "It's been a year, but you're still an asshole and I _still_ don't like you." He grinned indifferently, cracking his knuckles. "So let's get down to business… You planning to turn this whole city into demonsville, huh? Anything I can do to help? You know, maybe speed the process up a little faster…?"

"… Sarcastic as always, I see. But of course, there _was_ a reason I wanted to meet you here…" Vergil said with a smug look. His gaze moved down to rest on his brother's chest—or more accurately, on the thing hanging around his neck. "Your amulet… Give it to me…"

"No way," Dante answered, pretending to be offended by the request. "You have your own, man…"

"… You know I don't like asking twice," said Vergil coldly, his eyes hardening.

"I told you, it's mine. What, did you lose yours or something? Not my problem then…"

Taking a small step forward, Vergil narrowed his gaze, a hand slowly moving to the hilt of his sword. "Give me that _amulet_…" he repeated. "… Or we can do this the hard way."

"Heh," snorted Dante, already reaching for Rebellion. "The 'hard way' is more fun any day, _brother_."

That promptly ended the terse conversation and in a flash, the two brothers were charging at each other with readied swords. The clanks of metal against metal echoed in the night, the gleaming steels swatting the drops of rain like flies. Their motions were swift, powerful, precise—almost as if they were synchronising each other's movements with their own. The familiar rush of adrenaline surged through Dante, his blood pumping, and he couldn't help a small grin, knowing his opponent was probably having the same feeling. After all, people always said twins were bonded to each other since birth.

"You've gotten rusty," Vergil sneered as he swiftly avoided a thrust, bringing his own sword upwards in a deadly uppercut, but Dante swung back in time to repel the attack, jumping back a little as he reached for one of his handguns. Vergil effortlessly deflected the shots with a skilful, inhumanly quick spin of his sword. The bullets ricocheted off to the trees around them and he gave a triumphant smile. "A poor try, dear brother. You know guns can't hurt any one of us."

"Sure, but I just really wanted to put a bullet in your head," replied Dante with a shrug. Relinquishing Ivory and taking firm hold of his sword again, he lunged forward with a powerful, horizontal slash that was repelled by another attack from his brother. Their fight seemed in slow motion through his eyes, but from a spectator's point of view, the mighty swings of their swords were lightning-quick, the moonlight reflecting off steel appearing as brief flashes.

The battle continued so for some time until, with a growl of fury and a sudden burst of power, Vergil leapt into the air and made a lethal downward strike. Instinctively raising Rebellion, Dante managed to block his attack. Their swords met with a deafening clank and pressed forcefully against each other as they both tried to push the other back, although equalling in strength. Their faces inches apart, teeth gritting in anger and frustration, their cyan eyes glared in animosity and anger. A grinding sound resulted from their touching swords, sparks flying dangerously close.

"Not so rusty now, huh?" Dante spat, but Vergil merely gave him a dark smile and said, "I guess not, but maybe I should show you a new trick I've learnt…" With that, his sword was immediately engulfed in a bluish hue, and his whole body soon followed suit. A little taken back at this sudden change, Dante had no time to react as Vergil suddenly delivered an unexpectedly powerful blow, the impact sending Rebellion flying out of his hands and into the air. Before anything could register in his mind, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach and something cold lodged itself within him. His eyes widened in disbelief and he saw Vergil's expressionless face before him, his cyan orbs still glowing faintly.

His brother remained silent as he pushed his sword deeper into him, ignoring the nauseating sounds from the wound. Dante gritted his teeth from the excruciating pain shooting through his every nerve, feeling the sharp steel being twisted mercilessly. He could feel a strange energy radiating from the sword, flowing into him, aching and numbing his limbs. He couldn't help a low grunt of agony as Vergil finally pulled the weapon out, the blade dripping with blood. His half-paralysed knees buckled under him and even as he collapsed backwards onto the ground, he saw Vergil reach out for something. It was only after he heard the sound of breaking chains did he realise his amulet had been claimed. "Looks like I'm still the better swordsman," Vergil said under his breath, a hint of arrogance in his voice.

Dante wanted to reach for his nearby sword, but the stinging pain in his body completely paralysed him, as if he was being poisoned by something. His head was spinning and his hands were soaked in a pool of his blood on the grass. There was a sickening sound of cold metal meeting warm flesh as he once again felt something slicing through his abdomen. When he opened his eyes, he could see the hilt of Rebellion before him; the long, broad blade pinning him to the ground. He almost couldn't feel the pain from the second assault; he couldn't even feel his limbs. Vergil looked down at him, his expression pitiless and hardened with triumph, before turning to walk away.

He did not know exactly what happened next, but his skin started to burn, and Dante's whole body felt as if it was on fire. The cold touch of his sword in hits guts disappeared as he vaguely saw Rebellion spinning away, as if it had been deflected from him. He did not even realise he was floating in the air, or notice that he was glowing red. A sudden surge of pain erupted within him, his skin burning agonizingly, his vision was clouded in crimson. A loud ringing echoed in his eardrums. He didn't know if he had imagined it or not, but when he saw his hands, they appeared to be claws instead. Before he could get his head around what was happening, everything ceased; the inflammation in his skin, the strange music in his ears, the pain in his limbs. He felt the remaining energy in his body getting sucked away and once again, he collapsed onto the ground, his bones aching, spent.

"… I see the devil within you has awakened as well, dear brother." He heard Vergil remark, but was too weak to respond. There was the sound of someone else walking on the damp grass and an unfamiliar voice said quietly, "You have the amulet. Leave him. We can't waste anymore time…"

"As much as I'd like to finish him myself, he's too weak to prove a challenge anyway," Vergil replied. There was a clinking of chains before he continued, "This second key… How like Sparda to conceal it in such an obvious place… And who better to undo his spell than his own son?" He paused. Dante heard him mutter something, and then something hissed, accompanied by snarls of hunger. His eyes might not have been working properly, but if his memory was right, it sounded like the creatures he had battled at the stadium a few days ago. "Deal with him," Vergil commanded. There was a grunt of affirmation before the rustling of grass could be heard as the few creatures grotesquely waddled to him, their long scythes clanging lightly against each other.

Dante forced an eye open, trying against hope to pick himself up or maybe even crawl away, but through his blurry vision, he saw a sheet of black slowly covering him. Somehow, he sensed something familiar about it, but his mind slowly went blank as he passed out.

* * *

"… Do you actually _understand_ what she's moaning about?" Raven asked drily as she stared at a plump woman who, almost in tears, was wailing something that was supposed to be a poem of sorrow on the stage. Goth shrugged with a bored smile, his expression uninterested. "Something about her ex-boyfriend, I think," he replied. "Why do they always try to drag us into their misery?" 

"Tell me about it." She sighed, holding up her mug for another sip. She heard him awkwardly clear his throat and suddenly sensed that something was up. "Listen, uh…" he said, his cool demeanour gradually shattering. "I know you're a Titan and all, but I was just wondering whether you'd want to g—"

Raven didn't even hear him complete his sentence because the next thing that happened made her almost drop her drink. A blinding pain shot through her head, making her gasp and slamming her mug onto the table, spilling some tea, a fact she was oblivious to. A hand went to her throbbing forehead, feeling as if a sledgehammer had slammed the insides of her brain. Her vision blurred for a second and, blinking, she took a moment to recompose herself. When she looked up, her companion was looking at her with a strange expression. "Um… Are you okay?" he inquired curiously.

She was about to respond when once again pain seared through her. She felt a little dizzy and without warning, there was a sudden flash and she heard a voice booming in her head, "**_You know guns can't hurt any of us…"_** When she blinked, it was gone, and all she could see was the dim lights of the café and Goth's concerned face. "Raven?" His eyebrows arched higher. Her head was spinning and she knew something was wrong. She had to leave.

"I have to go," she said softly as she got up, pulling her hood on. She left the puzzled and slightly dejected boy without a word, paid for her drink and carefully stepped out of the place. It was drizzling lightly. Her eyes were unfocused, her head still dizzy and her breaths short. She took a few tentative steps before stopping and leaning against a nearby brick wall, sweating profusely. There was another flash in her mind and a loud, metallic sound rang in her ears, almost deafening her. Her heart pumped painfully in her chest, and the cold rain made her shiver a little.

_What's going on?_ Her thoughts were all jumbled up. _So dizzy… That voice… so familiar… What did it mean?_

As quickly as it came, the tormenting feeling in her head disappeared. She massaged her temples, taking in deep breaths to calm herself. When she opened her eyes, she suddenly caught sight of a blue glow behind one of the buildings around her. Her senses returning to normal, she detected a faint hint of strange energy from somewhere nearby. Her intuition was telling her to investigate and without second thoughts, she transformed into her other self and took to the sky, keeping a look out for any suspicious activity.

It didn't take her long to find her objective. The blue glow was coming from a park a few blocks away from her café. She landed and morphed back behind a tree, warily walking towards the sapphire hue hidden among a bunch of other flora. Now that she was nearer, she sensed something emitting an overwhelming amount of dark energy. Keeping her guard up, she silently crouched behind a thick bush and peered out.

What she saw made her eyes widen in shock. In the small clearing before her stood a man glowing in the bluish aura that had attracted her attention in the first place. He was holding a long, slim sword which appeared to be covered in red—_Is that blood?_— but it was his damp blue outfit which shocked her. He looked almost like the figure from her dream and his wet platinum hair reminded her of that arrogant demon hunter the Titans had met a few days ago. He was looking down at something else lying on the ground, but she couldn't see what it was.

"Looks like I'm still the better swordsman." Raven heard the victor say, his stiff voice giving her a flash of déjà vu. She saw him pick up another sword from the grass and, giving no warning, suddenly plunged it into the helpless thing below him. Disbelief and horror overwhelming her, she wanted to step out and intervene, but something within her was firmly telling her to stay out of it—especially with that mysterious man still there anyway. She had faced danger numerous times, but seeing someone actually being attacked mercilessly before her evoked the usually hidden desperation and panic within her. She felt the familiar prickling at the back of her neck and immediately tried to calm down, inhaling deeply and closing her eyes, clearing her mind.

She heard a strangled cry of pain just as she looked up and saw another familiar figure slowly rising in the air, this time covered in a reddish glow. It looked human, but she also noticed the folded wings on its back, the claw-like hands and the gleaming horns on its head. A stealthy movement in the trees caught her attention and she saw someone else slowly walking towards the blue-clad individual. The newcomer was bald and he was dressed in black, his strides slow but confident. She could not see his face, but the floating body had fallen back onto the ground and the creature—whatever it was—was still.

"I see the devil within you has awakened as well, dear brother," the man in blue said. His companion stood beside him and said, "You have the amulet. Leave him. We can't waste any more time."

"As much as I'd like to finish him, he's too weak to prove a challenge anyway," the man said, holding up something shiny in his hands. "This second key… How like Sparda to conceal it in such an obvious place… and who better to undo his spell than his own son?"

… _His own son? _The man's words echoed in Raven's head and she frowned in bewilderment. She didn't have enough time to continue thinking, however, because she caught sight of a number of the demonic creatures she and her comrades had battled the other day. There was no mistaking the misshapen stance and deadly looking reaping hooks. Something was shimmering a little further away and she could just make out the blurry figures of the two men before they vanished into thin air. She didn't know where the creatures had come from, but she couldn't risk them hurting other people in the vicinity.

Raven noticed the thing on the ground trying to move and almost instinctively, she gathered her focus and threw a shield of black energy around the helpless thing while telekinetically flinging away the approaching beasts. She took a quick scan around the place to make sure no one was around and then levitated forward. The snarling demons rushed in front to attack but she effortlessly threw them back again. There were only a few of them so it didn't take long for her to finish them off, grabbing their scythes out of their grasps and lodging them in their throats. As they disintegrated into dust, she turned to the thing she was shielding, lowering the dark barrier.

When she saw what—or who, to be more precise—it actually was, she paled visibly, feeling her hands begin to tremble. Red coat, silver hair and handguns… It wasn't a monster; it was Dante. There was a gaping wound on his stomach, blood smearing on his skin, pants, the grass, _everything_. The nauseating smell reached her nostrils and she had to bite back a choke.

"Oh Azar…" Raven swore, dropping to her knees and frantically feeling for a pulse. He was unconscious, but still breathing, although his heart rate was dangerously slow and his pulse faint. She laid a shaking hand on his wound and closed her eyes, trying hard to calm her chaotic mind to summon her healing abilities. She could already feel her powers uncontrollably snapping some of the branches of nearby trees. Being mentally trained ever since she was a child, she only took a moment to get her powers under control. She pressed her hand onto the wound, trying her best to ignore the sticky blood, and willing herself to absorb his pain, but to her surprise and dismay, nothing happened. Something within him appeared to be blocking her energy.

When her second try remained futile, she took a deep breath and focused again, this time attempting her last resort. Her violet eyes flared white and she chanted her usual mantra as she threw her cloak over him, engulfing both of them in black. She didn't take long to teleport him back to Titans' Tower and they reappeared just by the front door. She heard Beast Boy's excited voice as he battled Cyborg in one of their video games and Robin was talking to Starfire in the kitchen. Nobody seemed aware of her presence.

"Robin!" Raven cried out urgently. The young leader jumped and spun around. When he saw her bloody hands, he rushed to her immediately, his face worried. "Oh my God, Raven, are you alright?" he demanded. Behind him, Starfire gasped at the sight, her emerald eyes wide in shock.

"I'm fine… It's Dante… He's hurt…" Raven said, gesturing at the limp body by her side, still unable to stop her trembling hands. Cyborg and Beast Boy were already beside Starfire, gaping at the alarming sight. Noticing the wound was severe, Cyborg quickly picked the injured demon hunter up and headed to the infirmary. The other Titans trailed behind; Starfire extremely distraught, Beast Boy uncharacteristically at lost and Robin grim . He turned to Raven as they hurried down the hallway and asked, "What happened? Who attacked you?"

"Those creatures from the stadium," she answered quietly, wrinkling her nose distastefully at the smell of the blood on her hands. She briefly told them what happened just as they reached the infirmary. Cyborg set the unconscious Dante on the bed, taking off the holsters of his guns and his coat to further examine the gash. Robin was at the door, his masked eyes narrowed. "Starfire, Beast Boy and I will scout the city," he said. "If those things were at that park, they might appear somewhere else again. We can't risk the chance of people getting hurt. Raven, stay here with Cyborg. He might need your help."

"Better get yourself cleaned up, Rae," Cyborg said, noticing her dazed expression as the others left the room. He had hooked Dante up to some machines and was rummaging through the medical kits on the table and the cupboard nearby, taking out a clean, white cloth and some disinfectant for the wound. The beeps coming from one of the consoles were quick-paced. Her face almost vacant, Raven levitated to the sink and began scrubbing the red stains off her hands, her mind strangely blank. A sudden cry of surprise from her team mate made her look up, "What the…? Whoa, Raven, look!"

She turned to see Dante glowing with the same reddish hue at the park. The beeps accelerated, almost a fraction of a second between each sound. Remembering what she had seen, she quickly warned, "Cyborg, stand back. The same thing happened just before I found him… It could be dangerous…"

"Uh… I don't think so, Raven…" Cyborg replied in amazement, peering carefully at the subject before him. "Take a look."

She cautiously moved beside him to see and inhaled sharply when she saw the bloody tear on Dante's skin slowly narrowing, the wound sealing like magic. A few other scratches and bruises on his chest and arms were also gradually disappearing, but he remained unconscious. Raven's eyebrows furrowed. _He's healing himself… So _that's _why my powers couldn't work on him before… Something within him must have been blocking them… _

"Man," muttered Cyborg in disbelief, tentatively touching the newly formed tissue on the man's abdomen. There was still a faint trace of a scar. "Good as new… as if nothing happened at all…" He was checking one of the machines with a frown, the beeping now at a steady pace. "His heart rate's normal, but it looks like he's in a trance… Like you, Raven…"

She glared at him, wanting to tell him not to start with her, but he quickly continued, "I'm talking about the time when Adonis attacked you… and we all thought B.B. did it? Well, you were healing yourself as well, and then you kinda looked like this too…"

She studied the silver-haired man on the bed, her lavender eyes unconsciously resting on his bare chest, rising and falling steadily. She could sense a hint of strange energy radiating off him. It was foreign; like nothing she had ever felt before. "There's more to him than meets the eye," she said softly, raising her hands to tug her hood down. "I don't think he's even human… His aura is… unsettling…" A sudden wave of weariness washed over her and she took a step back, inhaling deeply as she ran her fingers down her face. Cyborg's watchful eye saw that and he laid a hand on her shoulder. "You should get some rest," he said kindly. "I'll take care of things here."

"Maybe I should help the others…" she trailed off, but he firmly pushed her to the door and replied, "They'll be fine. Robin can handle it. Get some rest, Raven."

She remained silent for a moment and then finally nodding and moving to the door. As she left, however, she turned back to look at Dante, her eyes settling on his peaceful face before moving to Cyborg. "We should monitor the room," she pointed out. "No matter what Robin says, I still think this guy might be trouble… Who knows exactly what he can do?"

"I'll be bypassing the infirmary security system through mine," he said. "Don't worry. I'll know if anything's happening in here." He watched Raven nod again before heading off to her room. He was a little puzzled by her behaviour just now, but a shrill beep broke his train of thoughts. He looked at the tiny screen on his arm and saw Robin, with Starfire and Beast in the background. The Titan leader looked serious but relieved. "How's everything going on your side, Cyborg?" he asked.

"Uh… something weird happened, actually… I'll tell you about it when you get back… Dante's still unconscious, but he's stable. Did you find anything in the city?"

"No," Robin answered with a sigh. "We checked out that park Raven was talking about and found traces of a fight, but no other clues—just some blood on the ground. Star had a good look around from the air but things are pretty quiet. Seems like those creatures didn't show up anywhere else, fortunately…"

"That's good news," concurred Cyborg. "I'll beef up the surveillance on the city, though. Better not take any chances."

"Where's Raven?"

"She's in her room. I told her to get some rest. She seemed pretty shaken just now…"

"… She looked fine to me before we left."

"Well, she was definitely acting a little strange a few minutes ago… Who knows what she saw at the park, huh? It must have been nasty…"

Robin frowned, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I'll talk to her tomorrow," he concluded. "We'll take another look around the city before we head back. Meantime… just keep an eye on Dante… I don't want him leaving until we get some answers…"

Cyborg nodded in affirmation and gave him the thumbs up. "Will do."

* * *

Steam rose in the air as the hot droplets of water rained onto her pale skin, but Raven was staring at her palms even as she inhaled the moist, refreshing air. Somehow she could still see the stains of red on her hands; a familiar symbol glowing faintly behind the smear. Her eyes widening slightly, she blinked and then it was gone. She had washed the blood away but the rusty scent still seemed to linger around. 

Suddenly aware of the flow of water around her, Raven reached out to turn off the shower, her violet hair dripping and the gem on her forehead glistening. She leaned her forehead against the cool, tiled wall before her, staring blankly at the swirling water by her feet. The images of the sword protruding from his body formed in her head; the puddles of blood on the grass, the slippery, nauseating feel of the red substance… She shivered even though she was warm from the shower.

The gradual chill on her naked skin roused her from her thoughts and she straightened up, remembering where she was. The blue towel by the door levitated to her and she wrapped it around herself, floating back into her room. As she dressed into her usual black leotard, she was troubled by the stubborn, disturbing pictures still in her mind. She was also a little confused. She had faced danger countless of times, but it was worrying how she couldn't get her mind off the incident that evening. Maybe it was because the sense dread and helplessness within her reminded her of that haunting moment a few years ago; when she watched as her team-mates fell under the power of her father, herself useless—_powerless_—to stop his actions. And the same thing had happened in that strange dream she had before…

She spent some time drying her hair before a sudden wave of weariness washed over her and she collapsed onto her bed with a contented sigh. The books carelessly strewn around her were placing themselves back onto the shelf they belonged, her prized Book of Azar silently sliding under the bed. She closed her eyes, her tired mind still replaying the happenings of the evening slowly, her arms hugged tightly around the cosy pillow under her head…

_… When she opened her eyes again, she found herself standing, not in her room, but in a familiar courtyard of ivory. Flocks of pigeons fluttered about, pecking at the grains of sand and seeds on the ground. A figure in white stood nearby, a cooing bird on its delicate hand. Even before she saw its face, Raven knew who it was. Azarath might be in a different dimension, but there was no mistaking the warm aura of Arella. Her voice was ever calm, with a hint of the quiet confidence she always possessed, "Hello, Raven."_

_"… __Mother," the reply was more out of respect than surprise. "Um… how are we in Azarath?"_

_"__You're asleep, dear child. We're in your dreams," Arella said, letting the bird on her hand fly away as she reached up to pull her hood down, revealing lavender hair much like Raven's own. The dark Titan took a moment to look at the buildings around her, a tug of remorse in her heart. No matter how much she was supposed to suppress it, she couldn't deny that she missed her childhood home. So many places, so familiar… _

"_You have grown," her mother noted with a tone of pride, seemingly pleased. "But have not changed much, I see…" _

"_I didn't know we could… talk like this," Raven admitted slowly. Arella gave her a small smile. "Only when necessary," she said shortly. "But this isn't a social visit… There is something you should know about that man in your care…"_

_At her words, Raven perked up immediately, her full attention on her mother. "You mean Dante? What can you tell me about him?" she said interestedly._

"_He is of great importance…" Arella said quietly. "You must watch over him, my child. Nothing must become of him, for his destiny is yet to be fulfilled."_

"… _Are you saying I'm supposed to protect him?" Raven's eyebrows shot upwards in disbelief, the tone of her voice going uncharacteristically higher. _

"_To sum it up, yes."_

_"__But I don't **like** him, mother. He's really… full of himself…"_

_"__I did not say you had to like him…" her mother replied patiently. "You just have to make sure nothing happens to him. After all, you have already saved him once…"_

_Raven was silent for a moment, suppressing the urge to scowl. She wanted to object fervently, but the dangerous glint in Arella's eyes changed her mind. Maybe it was better if she didn't say anything… She could probably get the other Titans to look out for Dante—in her place, of course. Instead of saying anymore about it, she changed the subject, wanting to dig up more information about the mysterious guy. "So who is he anyway?" she asked. "I couldn't heal him before… and then that crazy thing in the infirmary… He's not human, is he…?"_

_"__No. Is it not obvious by now, considering what happened in the park? That young man… He is the son of Sparda."_

_Raven's eyes popped wide open at once. "**What?**" She gaped. _

"_I'm surprised you haven't figured that out by now, my dear," Arella said, rather astonished. "After what you heard at the park, I thought things should be quite clear to you by now…"_

_Raven massaged the bridge of her nose wearily, slowly coming to terms with what her mother had said. The more she thought about it, the more she realised how dense she had been. Of course! She remembered what that man at the park had said… "**Who better to undo his spell than his own son?"** And he had called Dante 'brother'… Was the man the 'someone' Starfire said he was looking for? That definitely explained why she couldn't seem to absorb any of his pain—all the other people she had healed before were human, but a demon like him probably had his own powers blocking hers._

"_But that's impossible," she objected, a frown on her face. "The legend of Sparda… That was millenniums ago. How could Dante…? Are you telling me he's been around for **centuries**?"_

"_Don't be silly, child. The blood of the devil runs in his veins, but he is as human as anybody else…" Arella hesitated for a moment, as if trying to find the right words. "He is… much like you…"_

_Raven stared at her silently. Her eyes narrowed a little and she turned away, a cold feeling slowly creeping up her spine. "You mean he's a half-breed…" It was more of a bitter statement than a question. "What, did his father go around raping women too?"_

"_Actually, no. Sparda's relationship with his human bride was somewhat more… affectionate than you would expect… Although it is not to say that it was a happy family…"_

"_Beats ours any day," Raven muttered under her breath. Her thoughts reverted to the other man she had seen in the park—the one in blue. His familiarity was unsettling. She immediately remembered her hazy dream that evening. Was it just a coincidence, or was there a more sinister, hidden meaning? Was someone playing around with her mind? "Mother…" she started in a slightly worried voice. "I… I had a strange dream…"_

_"Dear child, there is no need to be concerned." The expression on Arella's face was of amusement and there was a surprisingly playful twinkle in her eyes. "It is perfectly normal for someone, at your age especially, to have… well, arousing dreams like that… There really is no need to be embarrassed…"_

_Taken back at her unexpected words, Raven stared at her again, this time in bewilderment and utter confusion. She took a minute to realise what her mother was actually referring to and despite how much she tried not to, she blushed a little. To tell the truth, she had already forgotten about that **oth**er dream... "Actually, I wasn't talking about that," she said flatly, wanting desperately to pull her hood on to cover her flushing face. "I had another dream, just now, a few hours ago. There was a man… He looked so much like the person I saw at the park; the one who attacked Dante. And he said something about my 'true destiny' and how I won't be able to stop what's about to happen… Do you know what he meant?"_

_"Dreams are often just what they are, Raven; images that do not mean much. They are not premonitions or visions of the future."_

_"But that man… When I saw him, it was… I had this… weird feeling in me, like I'd met him before, and I felt the same way with Dante, at the stadium…" The pensive look on Arella's face made Raven pause for a moment. Something was telling her that she appeared to be avoiding the question. A chilling thought suddenly flashed in her head, making her eyes widen slightly. Was it possible that…? "Mother," she said urgently, a painful sense of dread slowly overwhelming her as she voiced the next question. "… Was there another prophecy?"_

_Arella's gaze on her was one of melancholy, but she did not answer. "**Was** there?" Raven repeated, her heart turning cold. "What else did the monks of Azarath see in my future? Please, you have to tell me!"_

_"I am sorry… There is nothing more I can say," Arella stated sadly, but her eyes spoke volumes. She reached out to embrace her daughter, her arms protectively locked around her, as if not wanting to let her go. "But remember, Raven, no matter what happens, you will always have the love of your people," she murmured before reluctantly pulling back. "And mine as well, my sweet child."_

_Raven watched, uncharacteristically distressed, as Arella stepped back into the flock of white birds around her. The last thing she saw was the quiet, loving smile on her mother's face before her vision gradually blurred and an abyss of darkness slowly engulfed her. Even as she fell into a deeper sleep, she heard the echo of a faint voice, "Be safe…"_

_

* * *

_**Author's Note:**** In case you don't know, Goth _is_ the name of that guy from Blackfire's party. I was quite surprised by Raven's relationship with him in _Teen Titans, Go!_ and she didn't seem to mind going out with him. I had lots of fun writing Arella too; she looks cool and it's a shame she didn't have a larger role in the cartoon. **

**I know nothing much happened between Raven and Dante in this chapter, but I'll be sure to get on to the blossoming of their relationship in the next chapter. There will definitely be more interactions between them soon. :)**

**Also, I hope I managed to keep Dante in character during that fight with Vergil. What do you think? **


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